title: Evaluating the left atrium by magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: The emergence of catheter based ablation therapy for the prevention of recurrent atrial fibrillation has increased interest in the anatomy of the left atrium and pulmonary veins. In this article, we review the magnetic resonance imaging method of imaging the left atrium and the pulmonary veins, normal and variant anatomy, and the utility of imaging before and after atrial fibrillation ablation.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. thauser@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Dana C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: John V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Wylie
authors.forename: Warren J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Manning
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000639:trends